A Red Hot Wedding Trend

A few years ago, I watched a French bride walk out of a church, surprised not only that guests were throwing wheat instead of rice but also to see her sporting a bright red gown instead of the classic, all-American white. As trends tend to go, this one has made its way West and is now gaining popularity here in the States. Brides eschew wearing white down the aisle for purposes of statement or distaste for the color. Think Miranda in Sex and the City, for example, who wore black to her garden wedding in the show's sixth season, not caring to promote a false sense of virginal purity with her son and seasons of bed partners in tow. Color has slowly been working its way onto wedding dresses, in the form of sashes or trim. Ever the trend setter, Gwen Stefani wore a white-and-rose-colored Galliano gown for her 2002 wedding to fellow rocker Gavin Rossdale (pictured above, courtesy of wedlog.instablogs.com). Now, brides are making statements with entire gowns--and websites devoted to them--in red. Where white evokes cool cleanliness, red conveys excitement and passion. Other countries have incorporated the color for ages; in India red is the traditional choice for wedding saris.